And there’s more. It’s only July but football is on the horizon as Women’s Euro 2013 kicks off this week in Sweden.

Twelve countries, including England, will battle it out for this latest European title. Guess who the favourites are?

It’s our friends the Germans. They’re the title holders and have won seven of the 11 tournaments held since 1984.

England, the fourth favourites, kick off against Spain on Friday night. You can watch the match live on BBC3 (from 7pm).

With them in Group C are second favourites France and outsiders Russia.

Germany play in Group B, along with Norway, Netherlands and Iceland.

Group A hosts Sweden (the third favourites) take on Denmark in Gothenburg tonight. The game will be televised live on BBC3 from 7pm, with highlights from the earlier Italy v Finland match.

The BBC will show 16 live matches in total, including the final in Solna on Sunday July 28.

And don’t forget, your Daily Star will be bringing you unparalleled coverage throughout the competition.

Betting-wise, England start as fourth favourites. But with stars up front such as Arsenal’s Ellen White, Chelsea’s Eni Aluko and Birmingham’s Karen Carney they have to be seen as contenders.

England have never won the competition, but have twice been losing finalists, including last time around in 2009.

To put you in the mood we’ve singled out some of the top talent to look out for, lining them up for you as the ultimate starting 11.

And there’s also a list of 20 ways women’s football is actually better than men’s...

“Twelve countries, including England, will battle it out for this latest European title. Guess who the favourites are?”

1: Women footballers aren’t wimps. Lincoln Ladies midfielder Remi Allen took a shattering kick in the face during a recent win over Chelsea, but played on. “I wasn’t going to let a broken nose stop me,” she said later.

2: Even the top fixtures cost peanuts to watch. Mum, Dad and a couple of kids can typically watch a match for little more than a tenner. A season ticket for Chelsea Ladies costs £30.

3: Women players rarely dive, fake injury or emerge from a harmless challenge as if they’ve been floored by a sniper’s bullet.

4: It’s not just the same old clubs dominating the game. Our most famous women’s club is Doncaster Rovers Belles, who even inspired a hit BBC drama series, Playing The Field. There’s no Manchester United.

5: Women’s clubs are marketing geniuses. In 2011, Russia’s FC Rossiyanka announced they would play their next match in bikinis to boost attendance. “Our players are beautiful,” boasted their coach. “They’re great athletes and determined to win.”

6: Scotland are as good as Spain. Well, almost. In the women’s world rankings the Spanish are 18th while Scotland are 20th.

12: Female footballers are more likely to be raising babies than acting like them. A fortnight before she had each of her first two kids, Arsenal Ladies’ Katy Chapman was still training. And she was back six weeks later.

13: Refs rarely reach for their cards. Women’s games without a single yellow are common.

17: Women know how to say sorry. Swiss striker Ramona Bachmann apologised on Facebook for getting England keeper Rachel Brown unfairly sent off in a 2010 clash. Bachmann had conned the ref into thinking Brown had pulled her hair.

19: Argentina’s women’s side is 125th in the world – 88 places below Wales.

20: England’s 1966 World Cup legend Sir Bobby Charlton is a convert. “I have to admit, I thought women’s football wasn’t that great,” he said last summer. “But having watched this Olympics, I confess I was wrong. The standard is so good.”